Adobe Connect 10 is a significant milestone for Adobe Connect, bringing users the most exceptional, intuitive and exciting release yet. Adobe Connect 10 brings a host of great new features – Three of the major release features are:

An entirely new HTML client for participants

HD video and UI improvements to the desktop application

Single Sign On out-of-the-box

An entirely new HTML Client

Adobe has talked about the importance of HTML for quite some time. Over the last 12 months, users will have seen Adobe Connect Central updated with modern HTML components replacing interfaces that required Flash. Adobe says their goal has always been to move its meeting client to HTML as well, and is excited to introduce its new client with Adobe Connect 10.

The new HTML client available in Adobe Connect 10 provides a faster and more accessible experience for participants. The modern look and feel represents a new visual direction for Adobe Connect that emphasises user content over the meeting interface. While the interface has undergone a complete redesign, it maintains the core Adobe Connect experience of persistent rooms with layouts and pods.

The HTML interface is available for all Adobe Connect room types – Meetings, Virtual Classrooms and Seminars. While Adobe has been able to add support for every Adobe Connect pod, the new HTML client doesn’t have full feature parity with the desktop application in this release. Support for some content such as whiteboards, custom pods, and some document types isn’t yet available. Hosts and Presenters should continue using the Adobe Connect application to broadcast their video and share their screen. An organiser can choose whether or not to enable the HTML client for any room and it can also be turned on or off at the administrative level.

The new client doesn’t replace other ways of attending Adobe Connect meetings. Users can still use the desktop application, a browser running Flash, or the mobile app on iOS and Android in addition to the new HTML client. The goal is to reduce any barriers to entry. Adobe has made every effort to ensure that when users click on a link to an Adobe Connect room, they simply join using the technology they already have installed – even if that’s just a browser.

The new HTML client isn’t the only thing that is helping to make Adobe Connect look better than ever. There is now a new option when setting the video quality in Adobe Connect 10 that enables true high definition video. The Adobe Connect video pod dynamically scales the video quality as you change the size of the pod – ensuring everyone in your Adobe Connect room receives an exceptional video experience without sacrificing any bandwidth.

Adobe Connect 10 also includes changes to the interface of the desktop application. Adobe has implemented some of the new design elements of the HTML client. There has been a complete redesign of the login screen, and some color changes and visual tweaks in the application to make it more consistent with the new look and feel. As always, users will be able to customise Adobe Connect and create your own experiences.

Single Sign On

The Adobe Connect API has always enabled customers to implement Single Sign On (SSO), but adobe has made that experience faster and easier with Adobe Connect 10. Adobe Connect now features out-of-the-box integration with support for the SAML 2.0 open standard that will enable administrators to quickly deploy SSO for Adobe Connect throughout their organisation.

By implementing SAML-based authentication services, such as Okta, with Adobe Connect, organisations don’t have manage two sets of users and users don’t have to manage multiple passwords.

This is a tremendously exciting release from Adobe. The new HTML client represents the beginning of a new era for Adobe Connect.

Adobe Connect 10 will begin rolling out to hosted customers on October 14th. To find out when your account will be updated, you can use the use the widget on Adobe’s Downloads and Updates page. On premise customers will be able to install Adobe Connect 10 later this year.